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MTV Sued over Corpse Joke
by Mark Armstrong
Jun 12, 2002, 3:15 PM PT
Well, what do you expect from a show titled Harassment?
A Washington, D.C., couple has filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against MTV and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino after they were purportedly caught in a hidden-camera stunt for a new TV show--one that apparently thought it would be pretty funny to place a fake mutilated corpse in a hotel room.
Needless to say, hilarity did not ensue.
James and Laurie Ryan are seeking $10 million in damages, claiming they were the unwitting victims of a new MTV show titled Harassment, coproduced and hosted by That '70s Show's Ashton Kutcher.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the pair thought they were going to be spending a vacation at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in January. But instead, they arrived at a hotel room equipped with hidden cameras and were horrified to discover what appeared to be a bloody, mutilated corpse in the bathroom.
The pair reportedly tried to leave the room but were stopped by two actors dressed as security guards, who kept them inside the room until Kutcher could emerge and finally let them in on the "joke."
Kutcher's publicist had no comment on the alleged stunt, nor did MTV. Hard Rock Hotel president Don Marrandino told the Review-Journal he had not seen a copy of the complaint and could not comment.
The lawsuit, which seeks damages for invasion of privacy, fraud and emotional distress, was first filed in Los Angeles Superior Court April 19, but the case has since been moved to federal court in Washington, D.C.
The show has never aired on MTV, but Kutcher previously described the show as a sort of "guerrilla Candid Camera" that would poke fun at older people.
This, of course, isn't the first time an MTV show has decided not to let good taste get in the way of a joke. The network created cultural sensations out of gross-out shows like Jackass and The Tom Green Show.
Last April, two 14-year-old girls sued the network after they were the victims of a Jackass-style prank in which they were showered with human feces. The stunt, filmed during a winter break special at California's Big Bear ski resort, led MTV to apologize for the incident and vow to never air the footage.
Also last year, an 86-year-old woman filed a lawsuit against MTV and another one of its funnyguys, Andy Dick, claiming she suffered emotional distress during the taping of Dick's eponymous show for the network.
MTV Sued over Corpse Joke
by Mark Armstrong
Jun 12, 2002, 3:15 PM PT
Well, what do you expect from a show titled Harassment?
A Washington, D.C., couple has filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against MTV and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino after they were purportedly caught in a hidden-camera stunt for a new TV show--one that apparently thought it would be pretty funny to place a fake mutilated corpse in a hotel room.
Needless to say, hilarity did not ensue.
James and Laurie Ryan are seeking $10 million in damages, claiming they were the unwitting victims of a new MTV show titled Harassment, coproduced and hosted by That '70s Show's Ashton Kutcher.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the pair thought they were going to be spending a vacation at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in January. But instead, they arrived at a hotel room equipped with hidden cameras and were horrified to discover what appeared to be a bloody, mutilated corpse in the bathroom.
The pair reportedly tried to leave the room but were stopped by two actors dressed as security guards, who kept them inside the room until Kutcher could emerge and finally let them in on the "joke."
Kutcher's publicist had no comment on the alleged stunt, nor did MTV. Hard Rock Hotel president Don Marrandino told the Review-Journal he had not seen a copy of the complaint and could not comment.
The lawsuit, which seeks damages for invasion of privacy, fraud and emotional distress, was first filed in Los Angeles Superior Court April 19, but the case has since been moved to federal court in Washington, D.C.
The show has never aired on MTV, but Kutcher previously described the show as a sort of "guerrilla Candid Camera" that would poke fun at older people.
This, of course, isn't the first time an MTV show has decided not to let good taste get in the way of a joke. The network created cultural sensations out of gross-out shows like Jackass and The Tom Green Show.
Last April, two 14-year-old girls sued the network after they were the victims of a Jackass-style prank in which they were showered with human feces. The stunt, filmed during a winter break special at California's Big Bear ski resort, led MTV to apologize for the incident and vow to never air the footage.
Also last year, an 86-year-old woman filed a lawsuit against MTV and another one of its funnyguys, Andy Dick, claiming she suffered emotional distress during the taping of Dick's eponymous show for the network.
